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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23722555">Promises</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frosty_Mac/pseuds/Frosty_Mac'>Frosty_Mac</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mac and Jack One Shots [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>MacGyver (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Caring Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Daddy Issues, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Tag, Episode: s01e21Cigar Cutter, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Letter, Protective Jack Dalton (MacGyver 2016), Why Did I Write This?, cigar cutter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:33:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,511</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23722555</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frosty_Mac/pseuds/Frosty_Mac</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tag to Cigar Cutter, kind of. Because Mac was so nonchalant about his dad not getting his letter in the finale, and then in the first episode of season 2 he was all angsty about it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mac and Jack One Shots [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1693945</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Promises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>-One day before Cairo Day.- (Which we do not speak of.)</p><p>"Mac! Whatever you're doing, you better do it faster!" Jack yelled, ducking behind a car for a few seconds before popping back up and returning fire at the five men with assault rifles taking potshots at himself and Mac.</p><p>"You know, if you don't want to me to blow you up, you should keep your mouth shut," Mac yelled back, focused on the engine in the old Ford Ranger in front of him.</p><p>"No need to get snippy man," Jack said, returning fire and successfully hitting one of the men in the shoulder just above his vest. "One down four to go." He murmured to himself, tossing his now-empty clip and replacing it with one of his back-ups.</p><p>He started firing back at the other four men, trying not to flinch when one of the many bullets aimed towards his face nicked his ear. "Ouch, dammit! Mac! Hurry up!" He yelled, ducking down again. When he looked towards Mac, he couldn't help but laugh a little. Mac's knees we're now on the front bumper and his torso was laying on the old engine, while his right arm was out of sight somewhere under the hood.</p><p>"Jack, yelling at me isn't going to make me go any faster." Mac grasped the part he was searching for. "Yes!" He exclaimed, yanking it out and straightening up too fast. "Ouch dammit!" He said, echoing Jack's cry of pain when he whacked his head on the bottom of the hood.</p><p>This time Jack laugh loud enough for Mac to hear. Mac turned and glared at him. "Don't you have some men to shoot at?"</p><p>Jack just smiled. "Yeah, but don't you have a building to blow up?" He said, turning back around to fire at the men again. "Shut up Jack," Mac said, gathering the rest of the supplies he needed. While Mac was tinkering like an elf on Christmas Eve, Jack was focused on not letting the other 4 men get any closer to him and Mac.</p><p>Firing off in three-round bursts, he aimed for their arms and shoulders. "Geez, Mac. These guys have some pretty impressive firepower. You almost done with that?" He ducked down as another barrage of bullets whizzed by. Mac's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, and his brow was shining with sweat. Without looking up he held out his hand. "Phone and an unfired round."</p><p>Jack sighed, pulling back the chamber and letting the bullet fall into MacGyver's hand, and then grabbing his phone and placing it in his outstretched palm. "I want a new one when we get back ya hear? Brand spanking new with all the bells and whistles, and then an extra plain old one that you can rip apart for your death projects."</p><p>Mac didn't answer his partner's banter, too focused on his task. Jack kept returning fire, managing to hit two more of the men. "Oh no don't worry Mac. Just take your time. I'll just sit here and keep shooting until I'm out of ammo and their reinforcements arrive."</p><p>"Jack, if you don't shut up, I might just shoot you when this is all over." Jack turned to retort but Mac shoved the device in his hands. "It needs to be put in the middle of the room for optimal damage." Jack gave Mac a good hard stare.</p><p>"You feeling alright buddy? You don't look too good." His face was a shade paler than usual and Jack could see dark circles forming under his eyes. Mac just rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. I'll be better when we get out of here."</p><p>"Right," Jack said, glancing up at the 2 men left. He took his spare pistol out of its holster and handed it to Mac. "If I'm gonna go put this sucker in the middle of the room with all the baddies raining led at me, I need you to lay cover fire for me."</p><p>Mac shied away from the gun. "No way man. I'll put out there instead." He reached for the device, but Jack leaned back away from him.</p><p>"Not gonna happen Mac. You don't think I can't see you're not feeling a hundred percent? You're pale, and sweating more than a pig in the middle of a Texas summer. I can't let you go out there when I know you're not yourself. Now take the damn gun and lay cover fire for me." Jack shoved the gun at Mac and poised himself to run.</p><p>"Jack, I swear. I might just shoot you by accident." Mac said, gripping the gun tightly, a sense of dread washing over him. "3-2-1." Jack counted off, then bolted as Mac stood up and started shooting.</p><p>Jack made it to the middle of the room, carefully placed the bomb down, and ran like a bat outta hell back to Mac who was still shooting at the one guy he hadn't hit and started emptying the clip rapidly when he saw Jack running back. Jack made it back just as Mac ran out of ammo.</p><p>Shoving the gun at Jack, Mac started running away from the gunman and the bomb. "Jack! Let's go! We've only got a minute to get out of here before this place goes!"</p><p>Jack started running towards his partner, replacing the clip in his gun and shooting behind him at the guy that was stubbornly staying and rapid firing his assault rifle at them in a desperate attempt to kill them before the bomb went off.</p><p>Mac shoved the door open and kept running, looking behind him to make sure that Jack was still there. Mac's internal clock told him the had ten seconds left to get away. "Jack! We got less than ten seconds!" He yelled backward, only to trip on something in front of him. The force sent him reeling forwards, landing face-first in the dirt.</p><p>"Mac!" Jack yelled, sliding to a stop and falling on top of him, just as the building exploded and rained debris on top of them. After a minute when the dust cleared the air for the most part, Jack got off of MacGyver's back and surveyed the damage.</p><p>"Damn kid. That was one helluva boom." He turned to look at Mac, but he hadn't moved. "Mac?" He said, grabbing Mac's shoulder and turning him over. "Mac! Hey buddy. You gotta wake up."</p><p>There was a cut on the right side of Mac's head, blood was slowly but steadily draining out of his nose, and his lip was busted. Those were the only wounds Jack could see, and at the moment the cut on MacGyver's head was his top priority. "Mac. MAC. Wake up!" He patted Mac's cheek, he tried shaking the kid, but his body was just as stubborn as he was. He checked for a pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he found one.</p><p>He patted Mac down, finally finding his phone in Mac's jacket pocket, and he dialed Matty, setting the phone down and putting it on speaker. "MacGyver?" He heard Matty say.</p><p>"Matty! I need a medical team and an evac now. We blew up the building but, Mac, I don't know. One second he's running in front of me, next second I look back at him and he's on the ground face down. He's got a big ass cut on his forehead, and his nose is bleeding, and he ain't conscious."</p><p>As he said that, Mac's eyes flew open and he started gasping for breath. He reached out and grasped Jack's arm, while breathing heavily. "Scratch that he's awake." Jack said, helping him sit up. Mac started coughing harshly, trying to get air into his lungs. Jack just crouched next to him, rubbing his back and trying to help ease the pain and discomfort.</p><p>"Jack." Jack turned and grabbed the phone. "Yeah Matty we're still here."</p><p>"I've got extraction with medical team headed your way, but you need to try and make it as close to the extraction point as you can."</p><p>"Copy that." Jack hung up the phone and shoved it in his back pocket. "Hey buddy, we gotta move. You think you can walk."</p><p>Mac closed his eyes and nodded, grasping Jack's other arm, and hoisted himself up. A wave of nausea hit him and the world started spinning. He tightened his hold on Jack's arms as he steadied himself and waited for the world to stop moving.</p><p>"Okay. Let's go." He said, letting go of Jack's arms. Jack slung an arm around his shoulders anyway and helped him walk. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Jack spoke up. "What's eating at you kid? You seemed off before the mission, and then you seemed way off back there."</p><p>Mac didn't look at Jack. "It's nothing."</p><p>"I don't think it's nothing. You were pretty snippy and you don't look too hot." Jack said, scooting to the left away from a large rock embedded in the dirt.</p><p>"I'm fine alright?" Mac said, impatience creeping up inches voice.</p><p>"Mac."</p><p>Mac sighed. "Fine. You know the letter I sent to my dad?"</p><p>Jack looked at him warily. "Yeah, what about it?"</p><p>"It came back. I can't find him anywhere." Mac kept his gaze straight ahead, afraid that if he turned to look at his partner he wouldn't be able to control his emotions.</p><p>"He never got it?"</p><p>"Nope."</p><p>Jack took another long hard look at his partner. Mac's face was a mask, covering the pain and hurt Jack knew was there. "I'm really sorry bud. I know you really wanted to find your old man."</p><p>Mac couldn't reply. He just looked down at his feet, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. "Hey. Don't go lose yourself in that big head of yours. We'll find him okay? Just, starting the day AFTER tomorrow. Tomorrow we don't do anything but gorge ourselves on take-out and have a Die Hard marathon."</p><p>Mac looked at him warily. "Die Hard? Again? I don't think I'll ever understand your obsession with those movies." He shook his head in mock disapproval.</p><p>"Dude. Don't diss Bruce Willis."</p><p>"I'm not dissing Bruce Willis. I'm trying to figure out why you love Die Hard more than a little girl loves puppies and kittens."</p><p>Jack put his free hand to his chest as if in pain. "I am wounded by your words."</p><p>"How is that offensive?"</p><p>"You're comparing me to a little girl! I ain't no little girl Mac, and I don't love puppies and kittens. Sure, they're cute, but I'm not head over heels for em."</p><p>"Whatever Jack." Mac said, a smile playing his lips as he rolled his eyes. Jack smiled at that. After a minute of silence, Mac spoke.</p><p>"Thanks Jack."</p><p>"For what pal?"</p><p>"For being yourself when I need you to be, and being here."</p><p>Jack smiled. "Well, where else would I be? Egypt?'</p><p>"Hey hey." Mac said, a smile forming. "We don't," Jack joined him for the last part. "Speak of Cairo."</p><p>Mac laughed at their banter back and forth and Jack's superstition.</p><p>They walked the rest of the way in somewhat comfortable silence. Once they reached the extraction location, a medical team rushed up to Mac, and hustled him into the awaiting plane, Jack closed behind.</p><p>When Jack stepped on the plane, Mac was already sitting down with one lady checking every square inch of his body, while the other was taking his vitals. Jack chuckled. Mac looked really uncomfortable with the two ladies probing him. Mac was never one for physical intimacy, and these ladies were popping his personal bubble. Jack could see a couple of small bruises forming on Mac's chest and left cheek, but he seemed relatively okay.</p><p>"Nothing about this is funny Jack." Mac said, noticing his partners smirk.</p><p>"Dude. You should see your face. You look like my grandma is pinching your cheek and kissing your face."</p><p>Mac opened his mouth to respond, but one of the ladies stuck a thermometer in his mouth. Jack couldn't help it and he burst out laughing. Mac's look of surprise turned into annoyance at Jack's hysterics. "Oh. Man. Your face." Jack said, gasping for breath in-between laughs. Mac decided to ignore him and waited for the two women to finish.</p><p>Once Jack caught his breath, he sat down in the seat across from Mac's and watched as the ladies packed up their stuff. "You have a mild concussion, a few bruises scattered across your torso, but nothing major. Just take it easy for the next few days." They picked up their bags and went to sit in the back of the plane, scribbling stuff down on a notepad.</p><p>Jack looked at Mac and noticed him staring at him with an odd look Jack couldn't quite place. "What?"</p><p>"Nothing. I'm just glad Matty didn't send the Evil Elf." Mac responded, a small smile playing on his lips.</p><p>"Whoo wee. Now that would've been some prime entertainment right there." Jack joked.</p><p>Mac glared. "I'm glad my pain and suffering amuses you."</p><p>"Naw. Not the pain. Just your dislike of doctors, nurses, and hospitals, and the uncomfortable looks you get when you're being checked on or fixed. That amuses me." Jack said, getting up to sit by MacGyver.</p><p>Mac stared at him as he sat down on the couch next to him. Jack looked over at him, noticing his stare again. "What's on your mind bro? Other than your old man of course."</p><p>Mac looked into his eyes. "Why do you put up with me?"</p><p>Jack hid his partial shock at the abrupt question. "What do you mean put up with you? There's nothing to put up with. You're Mac. A genius kid who has saved the world more times than James Bond and Bruce Willis put together. And that's saying something. Not many people have done that." Mac looked down at his lap as Jack continued. "And no matter what happens with your dad, I'll be there with you. And we are going to find him, Mac."</p><p>Mac looked up at him again, a look of pain etched into his face. "How do you know though? How can you be sure?" Jack noticed the dark circles under Mac's eyes again, and the way he seemed to be fighting to sit up straight. He scooted closer to Mac, their hips almost touching, and put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him over to him.</p><p>Mac unconsciously laid his head on Jack's shoulder and closed his eyes. "I know, because you are the smartest person I know, and we have the best family, who are gonna help us find him."</p><p>Mac adjusted the way he was sitting so he could lay his head on Jack's lap. Jack smiled and ran his fingers through the blond hair, finally feeling the tiredness his body had been hiding from him as the pull of sleep finally took him, and he fell asleep with on hand on Mac's side and one in his hair.</p>
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